In my journey to write high-quality work, faster, I've been experimenting with one or two productivity techniques. One I particularly like for writing is the Pomodoro Technique.
You probably already know about this method but for those who are new, it's pretty simple:
- work for 25 minutes
- take a 5 minute break
- repeat 4 times, then take a longer 20 minute break
If you're struggling to focus, especially while writing, I'd really encourage you to try this method. While it's hard to focus solidly for 1 hour at a time, 25 minutes is a great length to really buckle down and get some writing done.
It's an example of a small, achievable goal.
Yet while small, it packs a punch. I consistently surprise myself at how much I can write in 25 minutes. It seems short, and it is, but you can also get a lot of writing done because the pomodoro helps you find your writing 'zone'.
And more importantly, stay in it.
25 Minutes is the Perfect Time to Slap Ideas Down
When I write a first draft of any article, my main goal is to whack out text as fast as possible. This is where a Pomodoro comes in handy because 25 minutes is the perfect amount of time for me to get the ideas out my head and onto the page.
Not too long, not too short.
Since I'm writing so furiously in that first Pom, my text usually comes out in a big, messy mass of words and symbols. There are spelling errors, grammatical errors and more.
However, in this critical first step, it's vital that we get all our ideas out on the page in one go; it really doesn't matter how correct it is.
My ultimate goal in this first draft is to take the key idea in my head and just spit it out. It won't be neat and it'll probably completely change by the end, but that's ok.
Why do I feel the need to whack my idea out in this way? Well, it turns out I can think faster than I write. The crafting and fine-tuning come later and to do that, I need something on the page to work with.
The pomodoro technique helps because I know that even though I'm writing something really crappy, I have time assigned for making it look perfect later.
This might be an extreme example of Anne Lamott's advice to "write really shitty first drafts."
Think I'm joking? Take a look at my first run-through:
I use a lot of Medium's handy "to come" markers which I just love when writing. I wish that Microsoft Word would also have this feature!
"Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper." — Anne Lamott
A 5 Minute Break Gives the Perfect Chance to Come Back With Fresh Eyes
One of the best parts of the pomodoro techniques is the 5 minute break. That's because when doing any kind of creative work I often find it hard to see the forest for the trees.
We get so bogged down in writing that we forget to take a step back and think about what we're actually saying.
The 5 minute break lets us do that.
The short break gives us the perfect chance to take a step away, think about something else for a moment and come back to our writing with fresh eyes. It helps us to be more critical and therefore write better, clearer text.
Even with just 5 minutes, those re-invigorated eyeballs allow us to spot big structural fails or inconsistencies in our story that we may have missed before. We can identify weak parts and therefore make our overall work stronger.
Five minutes may not seem much but it's a really effective way of taking a break, without really taking a break.
I'd thoroughly recommend walking away from your screen for best results.
The Pomodoro Technique Provides Clear Cut Sections for Different Types of Writing Task
I typically break my article writing into 4 separate chunks:
- Ideas spurt: For the first 25 minutes I let my thoughts rip. Fast and furious, taking the ideas from my head onto the page.
- Editing: For the second step, I put on my ruthless editing hat. I make big sweeping motions with my mouse, I chop and change whole sections and I'll delete at least 10% of what I've already written. I'll probably add a bunch more text too.
- Refining: The third step is the refining stage. Here, I make fewer big structural edits but may still completely re-word or delete a sentence. I might look up synonyms or think about adding or removing joining words.
- Polishing: Then the final stage is the polish. Ideally I try and do this on another day. This is the final look so all I'm doing is tweaking little words here and there to make it the best I can be. It also includes running it through Grammarly. And submitting it to publish. It's a lot to do but the article should be in pretty good shape by now.
Those are the four steps that I think are vital for producing a good article: idea release, edit, refine and polish.
If each takes 25 minutes then adding up the times will come to two hours (incl. breaks). Yes, that's quite a long time compared to some other writers. But that's what works for me.
The pomodoro fits so nicely into this method. The clear-cut blocks of time allow me to switch gears in a way that is hard to do in one fell swoop. It takes me a very different part of my brain to do editing versus generating ideas.
When the timer goes off that's when I know that OK, it's time to move onto the next step.
The Pomodoro Technique Reduces Wasted Time
A real big bonus of the Pomodoro Technique is that it helps me to be a more efficient writer.
A set time of 25 minutes stops me from taking my eyes off my work. I don't focus on anything else other than the editing screen in front of me because I know the time will fly by. And I know there will be time at the end to do other, non-writing stuff.
During my pom, I don't allow myself to check my phone (it's on do not disturb anyway) and I sure don't let my fingers research something online. Even if it is related to the article I would rather write a reminder tag and come back to it later, versus interrupting my flow to research it now.
A further mega-bonus is that using the pomodoro clock actually cuts down on the time I spend editing. Because truth be told I could edit all day if I really wanted. Tweaking, reorganising, changing. I'm a perfectionist so the pomodoro clock helps me decide when enough is enough.
What is your favourite technique?
All in all, I find that the pomodoro technique works exceedingly well for my writing style. Better results, less wasted time and well-defined time blocks for getting the work done.
Have you tried this method? I find that it doesn't work for every type of work, but I do find that it is particularly effective for writing.
Try it out — you may just love the pomodoro method for writing as much as me.
FYI here is what my article looked like after each pomodoro:
First pom — 842 words
Second pom — 1246 words
Third pom — 1330 words + pictures
Fourth pom — grammarly + publish
Looking for something productive yet fun to do on your 5 minute break? Look no further!